California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) “has more than $10 million in the bank to aid his 2014 reelection bid, and an additional $3 million left over from the effort to pass Proposition 30 last fall,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Brown filed his fundraising reports for the first half of 2013 with the secretary of state’s office on Tuesday. It shows the governor in a strong position to finance a reelection campaign. Brown has not declared his intention to seek an unprecedented fourth term as governor, but would be a strong favorite to win reelection if he decides to run.”

Chicago Tribune: “More than five months after saying she wouldn’t return as Gov. Pat Quinn’s (D) running mate, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon (D) announced Wednesday she would seek the Democratic comptroller nomination but wouldn’t say if she backs her boss for re-election.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is ready to bury the hatchet” with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “over the oldest of summits — a beer at the local pub,” the AP reports.

Said Paul: “Anytime he would like to come down and sit at a pub right around the corner from the Senate. We’ll have a beer.”

“When asked on his monthly call-in show Wednesday if he would be willing to have a drink with Paul, Christie said he is too busy to make it a priority but will ‘look him up’ if he is ever in Washington.”

Politico: “But the battle lines between the two men have been drawn in a more lasting way. More than anything else, what the firefight revealed was the extent to which Paul and Christie – two pols who have thrived on the appeal of their raw authenticity – have placed drastically different bets on the future of the Republican Party.”

A new Denno Research poll in Michigan finds Gov. Rick Snyder (R) leading challenger Mark Schauer (D) in the race for governor, 43% to 37%.

Ken Cuccinelli (R) says he’s glad Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) “is returning all the gifts he received from a major political donor. But he has no plans to repay the more than $18,000 in gifts he received from the same benefactor,” NBC Washington reports.

Cuccinelli said that Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams “didn’t give him the kind of gifts that can be returned. Among the gifts from Williams listed in Cuccinelli’s financial disclosure statements are a $1,500 catered Thanksgiving dinner, private jet trips and vacation lodging.”

Said Cuccinelli: “There are some bells you can’t unring.”

BuzzFeed has a copy of the contract Newark Mayor Cory Booker signed in May to speak in Iowa, “which according to a university spokesman was supposed to be canceled when Booker announced his Senate bid.”

Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) will announce his candidacy next week to challenge Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), “arguably Democrats’ most vulnerable senator of the cycle,” Roll Call reports.

The Cook Political Report moves the race to “toss up.”

Politico: “Arkansas is one of a handful of Republican-leaning
states represented by Democrats — Louisiana, North Carolina and Alaska
are the others — that are critical to the GOP’s chances of flipping the
Senate next year. The party needs to net six seats to capture the
chamber. But Democrats say history is in their favor, noting that only
three of their incumbents have lost in the past decade.”